Prepare to Be Enraged: A Woman's STD Diagnosis Was Posted to Facebook (She's Suing the Hospital, of Course)

And here you thought the worst thing that could happen on Facebook was that time you accidentally typed your ex's name as your status instead of a search term. Nope. Wait until you read the fully story of the nightmare one Ohio woman experienced at the hands of an ex-boyfriend and a gross Facebook group.

In Cincinnati, a woman has filed a lawsuit after medical records containing her syphilis diagnosis were posted online. Her results were posted on a page for a Facebook group with more than 2,200 members called "Team No Hoes," along with commentary calling her a "hoe" and a "slut." Her suit is against the hospital, individual employees of it, and her ex-boyfriend, who she claims convinced the hospital to release the medical records. She is seeking at least $25,000 in damages. Her attorney said, "“She was absolutely devastated. That is the most private of private medical information that was posted on Facebook and went out to a group on Facebook that had a huge dissemination.”

Of course she is absolutely devastated—and everyone should be absolutely enraged on her behalf. There are so many horrific and maddening aspects to this story. For starters, private medical records are private medical records, no matter what the health issue. It is a huge violation of this woman's privacy to have her information posted anywhere publicly.

But to have it posted in a Facebook group called "Team No Hoes" along with slut-shaming statements is beyond the boundaries of human decency. Welcome to the crossroads of shaming women for sexuality in general and shaming people with STDs specifically. It's a Shame Bonanza, and it's disgusting. Leaving aside the legal implications of releasing her information, which were already bad enough on their own, no woman (or man, for that matter) deserves to be made to feel ashamed for having a sex life or one of the health complications that can come with it. Having sex doesn't make you a slut. And neither does getting an STD, which happens to millions of people, regardless of the number of people they have slept with—and sometimes in spite of every attempt to protect themselves.

Here's hoping this woman gets justice in court, in the hopes that all women will get more respect in the future.

Photos: Getty Images

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Gena KaufmanRelationships writer. Lawyer turned writer who believes that when your love life hands you lemons, you should quit your job, move home, and share your dating mishaps on the Internet.